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Month: June 2016

This was $1.00. It had a good list of songs on it. As we get closer to the end of the month, I have noticed I have gotten less enthused about writing posts. This has been a good month for the blog, I was able to write most of the posts before the second weekend of the month. That is a lot more fun than trying to throw something together the night before after work.

The Boogie Kings hail from Eunice, Louisiana. They started life in 1955 as a teenage garage rock band formed by Doug Ardoin, Skip Morris, Bert Miller, and Harris Miller. The band would evolve from swamp pop to blue eyed soul though various personnel additions, most notably trumpeter Ned Theall, who with his noteworthy arranging skills, became band leader. The group was fronted on vocals by trumpeter G.G. Shinn and Jerry “Count” Jackson . Friction led to the dissolution of this lineup in 1966 but the band continued on a regular basis until 1973. However, several reunions have taken place over the years, mostly organized by Theall who would die suddenly in 2010. According to Wikipedia, they released 12 studio albums including one from February of 2016.

This album is okay. It is a collection of popular soul/ RnB covers. The song selection is pretty good. Vocals are good. The horn section is pretty good as well. Come on man, can I use another adjective other than good? Apparently not today. Anyway, this is a pretty good sampler of blue eyed soul. I was a bit taken back by their version of “Change Going to Come”, a song closely associated with the Civil Rights movement. It felt a bit weird having a white group tackle this song, but other than that, no real complaints on this album.

For a sample, I went with one of my favorites “Harlem Shuffle”. The horn section really shines on this track.

Mary Francis Penick, known to the world as Skeeter Davis, was born in Dry Ridge, Kentucky in 1931. She started in the business of show as a teenager in the country vocal duo, the Davis Sisters (despite being neither sisters or a Davis). The duo had a bonafide #1 hit single with “I Forogt More Than You’ll Ever Know”. However, tragedy struck in 1953 when a car accident killed Betty Jack Davis and injured Skeeter. She would continue the duo with Betty’s sister Georgia until 1956 when she decided to retire from music and get married.

Retirement was short and Skeeter returned to country music in 1958, this time as a solo artist. She gained success working with Chet Atkins on several hit singles. Her biggest success, however, was the pop country crossover, “The End Of The World”, a millions seller. It would become Skeeter’s signature tune. She would record for RCA up until the mid 70’s. From there it is unclear what happened other than a few albums for smaller labels and appearances here and there. As a member of the Grand Ole Opry since 1959,she made her final appearance in 2002. She would pass away from breast cancer in 2004. She was one of the first female country solo stars. Both Tammy Wynette and Dolly Parton acknowledge Skeeter as an influence.

This was Skeeter’s forth solo studio album, released in 1963. Produced by Chet Atkins and Anita Kerr, the album was her biggest success. In order to get a full sound as well as mimic her Davis Sister’s sound, Skeeters vocals were double tracked. Furthermore, the Nashville Sound complete with strings and piano is evident here. The songs are good, Skeeter’s vocals are great, and overall, the production values are good.

This is the second foreign language LP I have posted this month. This was $1.00. It was also sealed. Again, this was a roll of the dice but at $1.00, the bar was set pretty low. To the untrained eye, please note: this album is Argentinian not Mexican. So for all those licking their Copa Cup final wounds, here you go.

Miguel Angel Robles may have been born April 6, 1948, in Buenos Aries. He is a composer/singer of romantic ballads. I believe he has still released work up into the last 5 years or so.This was released sometime in the 1980’s, perhaps 1984. I am guessing it is a collection of romantic ballads. It sure sounds like that anyway. The songs are ok but I bit slower than I would have liked.

For a sample, I went with “Matame Lentamente”. Maybe it can cheer Messi up a bit after his disappointing weekend.

I would say this is a meh album but that is a but unfair. It was cheap and if I could read Spanish, I probably would have known it was a romantic album. But it is slower than I would have liked, so I am going with meh. Sorry.

This was about Marty Robbins’ 18th album or so. Released in 1966, it continues on the success he found nearly 6 years prior with gunfighter ballads. Despite recording other country hits, it is these ballads that Robbins’ is perhaps best known for.

This album in particular would go to #6 on the country album charts. It contained “Faleena” a pre-quel if you will to Robbins classic “El Paso”. “Faleena” tells the back story of the woman in the original tune as well as her end.

The album also contains “Mr. Shorty”, which went to # 14 on the country charts. The song tells the story of a showdown between a short man with a short barreled Bat 44 and a bullying brute who goads him to use it. How does it end? In spectacular fashion, but you will have to listen to it for yourself for the specifics.

As for the album itself. It is pretty decent. “Meet Me Tonight in Laredo” is a fine number. So is “Cry Stampede”. This may indeed be Robbins’ purest cowboy record. Critics have called the album Robbins’ “most artistically ambitious albums as well as one of his most accomplished”. Satisfactory.

This was $3.00. I liked the title track as well as some of the other songs on the album. I think I did this post in less than 5 mins. I realize those who like the occasional wittiness of the blog get robbed on these quick ones. I am trying to come up with a solution on this (although not very hard) but in the meantime, here is this quick post.

This was Dionne Warwick’s 13th studio album. Released in 1970, they album contained mostly Hal David/ Burt Bacharach numbers including the title track, “Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head” and “Paper Mache”.

The other song writers covered are Jim Webb (“Didn’t We”), George Harrison (“Something”), and Paul Anka (“My Way”). Overall, the album is pretty good. It is what you would expect from a Warwick album of that era.

This was $3.00 at a record show. Looked pretty good and I liked the name of the singer but at the time, I had no idea who he was or what this would sound like. I assumed blues.

Ivory Joe Hunter, born in Kirbyville, Texas in 1914, was a rhythm and blues singer, songwriter, and pianist. Incidentally, Ivory Joe was his birth name. He showed an early interest in music as a child, recording for Alan Lomax in 1933. In the 1940’s, he had his own radio show in Beaumont, Texas before eventually moving to Los Angeles. Known as the Baron of the Boogie and the Happiest Man Alive, he had a string of hits throughout the 1940’s and 1950’s. He recorded over 100 songs for such labels as MGM and Atlantic as well as his own Pacific Records.

When his career in RnB declined, Hunter came back as a country singer in the late 60’s/early 70’s. This was bolstered by Sonny James making a hit recording of Hunter’s signature tune, “Since I Met You Baby”. Hunter would die in 1974 of lung cancer.

This album, released in 1971, was a result of exposure due to James. The album featured several of Hunter’s earlier works backed by a Memphis All Star band lead by Isaac Hayes on organ, Jackie Harvell on lead guitar, sisters Sandra and Donna Rhodes on bass and drums, and Charlie Chalmers on sax. Some critics have dumped on this album but I felt it was a pretty good mix of rhythm and blues mixed with classic country, all done with a pretty good backing band. I liked this album.

For a sample, I was torn between so many songs on this album. I decided take the lazy way out and to go with three samples. First is the opener, “Heartbreak and Misery”. Next is an updated version of Hunter’s classic “Since I Met You Baby”. Finally, I posted an awesome version of the classic “Ol’ Man River”. All the songs are served well by the backing Memphis all star band, especially “Ol’ Man River”.

A friend of mine who used to work at Half Price Books knew this was a good record and recommended it to me. Before hearing this, my only point of reference on Brecht’s Three Penny Opera was a cast recording from the 50’s featuring Kurt Weil’s wife Lotta Leyna who also performed in the original.

Threepenny Opera, written by Bertolt Brecht with music by Kurt Weill, is a play with music and part of Brecht’s “epic theater”. Adapted from John Gay’s 18th century Beggar’s Opera, Brecht tells the story of Macheath, one of the 20th century’s earliest anti-heroes, through a socialist perspective of capitalism. Performed in Germany in 1928, it has been translated and performed throughout the world and is one of Brecht’s most popular works.

The first US production was in 1933 at the Empire Theater on Broadway. Running two weeks at 12 performances, it was a disappointment. Neither Weill or Brecht were involved in rehearsals. An off-Broadway version in 1955, translated by Marc Blitzstein and staring Weill’s widow Lotta Lenya as Low Dive Jenny, was a massive success, running 6-1/2 years and 2707 shows. At the time, it beat out Oklahoma for consecutive performance of a musical. The album mentioned in the first paragraph was taken from this run. In contrast, this album was taken from the next major US production, 1976’s New York Shakespeare Festival’ adaption, translated by Ralph Manheimm and John Willet. It has been described as a “milestone in American Theater”. Some critics,however, including Lenya were less enthused with the final result. The production ran for 9 months and 307 performances.

Perhaps the most famous song from the play is the opening “Die Moritat” or simply “Mack the Knife”. Oddly enough, this song was written as an after thought on the fly when the actor playing Macheath, Harald Paulsen, demanded an introductory song for his character. It has become a jazz/pop standard in the US thanks in part to Louis Armstrong and Bobby Darin. When Armstrong recorded his version, Lotta Lenya was present in the studio. Armstrong added her name to the song when listing floozies in Macheath’s stable. It should be noted though that traditionally, the song sounds more like the version below, which is done by Roger Daltery of the Who.

The second most famous song from the production would be “Seeraberjenny” or “Pirate Jenny”. It is a revenge fantasy song sung by Low Dive Jenny in which she plots the overthrow of the customers who look down on her. Lenya performed excellent versions of this song both in German and in English. My favorite version of this song, however, was down by Nina Simone.

This album’s production made a star out of Raul Julia, who played Macheath. It also starred Ellen Greene, of Little Shop of Horrors fame. Below is a clip of Julia in a 1989 movie adaptation that sticks closer to the Blitzstein version. I should have noted this but this is also where the Daltrey clip comes from.

The translation on this album is the real star in my mind. Whereas Blitzstein softened up the text for 1950’s America, this version is more gritty and more true to Brecht’s original vision. It also has mild profanity. I know that is cheap thrills but I like it. My favorite song on the album has to be “Jealousy Duet”, which is shown below in the 1950’s version as a point of comparison. Note that this features Future Golden Girl, Bea Arthur.

For samples, I went with what I felt showcased the difference between the two translations. First off is “The Cannon Song” also known as “The Army Song”. It is a song between Macheath and his old army buddy Tiger Brown, who is now chief of police. I greatly prefer this version to the one shown above. Also as a sample, I went with “Jealousy Duet” which is my favorite song on the album. It is sung by Polly and Lucy outside Macheath’s cell. Again, compare the MP3 to the video clip above and tell me otherwise. Please note that this MP3 does have mild profanity. Finally, I went with “Ballad of Gracious Living” to showcase Julia’s talent.

This is a top rated album. I should give credit to the other performers on the MP3’s. Tiger Brown is played by David Sabin. Polly is played by Caroline Kava. Lucy is played by Blair Brown.

This was $4.00. Good old classic country does not get passed up by me at those prices.

In describing the big three women of country music, I have often used this setup. Loretta Lynn, for the most part goes after the other woman in such songs as “You Ain’t Woman Enough To Take My Man” and “Fist City”. Dolly Parton, on the other hand, takes it straight to the man. She ain’t no “Dumb Blond”, she ain’t going to take no jive, and if you even think about rasing an arm to her, all hell will break lose. In comparison, Tammy Wynette will let you walk all over her if that is what it takes. That is how I have seen it for the most part.

This was Wynette’s second album, released in 1968. It would go to # 3 on the Country album charts. It would also produce two #1 country singles, the two which the album is titled for.

The album contains both new material as well as two covers, Bobbie Gentry’s “Ode to Billie Joe” and Norma Jean’s “Jackson Ain’t a Very Big Town”. Produced by Billy Sherrill, the album is a pretty good collection of the country music coming out of Nashville at the time.

For a sample, I had originally went with “Fuzzy Wuzzy Ego”, although it is a silly song of sorts.However, I decided to change it in favor of “The Phone Call” as it better supports the narrative above.

This album has been staring at me for the past four months so it is best time for me to post it. I think the title is why I bought it. It is fun to say, especially in a German accent, although my German is probably more Austrian sounding.

This is a collection of German stars of jazz. Some of the music was taken from in the German Jazz Festival. One side is composed of various award winners from 1955 in the German magazine, Jazz Beat; namely the Johannes Rediske Quintet, the Rolf Kuehn All Stars, the Paul Kuhn Quartet, the Max Gregor Combo, and the Jutta Hipp Quintet. The other side consists solely of the winner of that year’s Best Modern Combo from the same magazine, Hans Koller and his New Jazz Stars. Koller also won best tenor sax. For some reason, I thought this album consisted of winner’s from the jazz festival but apparently I read the liner notes wrong the first time.

Hans Koller

The songs are pretty straight jazz. It is, maybe, about ten years behind what was coming out of the US at the time, but what can you do. International influences on culture kind of took a back seat during WWII. There are jazz standards such as “Honeysuckle Rose” and “Lullaby of Birdland”, as well as German tunes including Kurt Weill’s “September Song”. The musicianship is pretty good and overall, it is a good jazz album.

For a sample, I went with the Johnannes Rediske Quintet and their rendering of “Lullaby of Birdland”. I also went with Hans Koller’s take “Fine and Dandy”, mainly in tribute to comedian Art Metrano. I know it is a corny bit but it is funny to me and yes, he was Lt Mauser in Police Academy 2 & 3

This was $3.00. I was familiar with Shani Wallis through her work as the lead female Nancy in the musical movie Oliver! so I decided to give this a try.

Born in Tottenham, in 1933, Wallis made her first stage appearance at age 4. From there, she work on various productions both in the theater and on the big screen. Her movie singing screen debut was in Charlie Chaplin’s 1957 film, A King In New York.

Perhaps it is her role of Nancy in Oliver! which she is best known for. At least that is how I best know her. Not having done the role on stage, she had to fight for the part. According to sources, Elizabeth Taylor was up for serious consideration for the role.

Her production level slowed down somewhat after since the movie musical was on the decline. She continued with roles on TV as well as nightclub performances. After gaining US citizenship, she moved to America where she has been for 40+years with her husband, her agent, Bernie Rich. They have been married since 1965.

This I believe was Wallis’ first solo album. Released in 1969 by Kapp records, the album includes a number from Oliver! as well as songs written by David/Bacharach, Goffin/King, and Jimmy Webb, as well as music from Man of LaMancha and Finnegan’s Rainbow. The album is a nice little pop number highlighting Wallis’ voice.

For a sample, I went with “I’d Do It All Again” and one of my favorite numbers, “The Impossible Dream”.